Alright, let's talk about using a rotating curriculum.
Instead, I'm going to explain what it is, why you need it, and how to go about switching from a standard to a rotating curriculum in your dojo.
The simplest way I can explain it is that a rotating curriculum is a curriculum that is taught in segmented, sequential, rotating sequence.
We spoke about segmenting your curriculum yesterday, by distilling your student curriculum into the core techniques (which strangely always seems to be in the realm of 150 techniques) and breaking it down into bite-sized chunks.
An instructor who uses a rotating curriculum takes that process a step further by taking those chunks, putting them in sequence, and then setting up a schedule by which they are taught to every class.
You don't "need" it, at least not like you need oxygen or water. But it's "nice to have," kind of like it's nice to have a car to get around town instead of going everywhere by foot, or like it's nice to have vaccines so we don't all die of contagious diseases at an early age.
What the rotating curriculum does is it saves you from succumbing to a few of the limiting factors to scaling your school:
- It saves you from having to hire a lot of staff. Why? When you use a rotating curriculum, everyone in each class is learning the same material at the same time. So, instead of having to break your class down into groups to teach each belt level different material, everyone learns the same material at once. This eliminates the need for a lot of assistants to help you run classes.
- It saves you from having to limit your class size due to size limitations. When you have to break your classes into groups, it means you need more square footage to run a class, because each group needs their own "space" to move. However, when the class is kept to a single group you can use your space at its maximum efficiency. This means you can personally teach more students per class.
- It saves you from having to limit your class size due to your own teaching limitations. Again, when you have to break classes down into groups, you have to spread yourself out. This means you have less time to spend with each student, because you are moving from group to group, and it also means you can't teach as many students. With a rotating curriculum you are working with the same group the entire class, which means you can instruct more students in every class.
- Also, you can teach more in shorter classes. We already discussed that people typically want classes that are under an hour long. Using a rotating curriculum means you are teaching more efficiently, so you can schedule shorter classes.
Obviously, the rotating curriculum is NOT a complete solution to any of these limiting factors. At some point, you still need to hire teaching staff to help you around your dojo.
And, class size will still be limited by size and space factors... just not as significantly when you use a rotating curriculum. And time will always be a factor in how many students you can teach, but less so when you use a rotating curriculum.
How Do You Switch Over To Using A Rotating Curriculum?
I usually suggest that instructors switch over to using a rotating curriculum in January or at transitional times of the year, meaning at the beginning or end of the school year.
Why?
People always resist change. It's human nature. However, they are more likely to accept change at transitional times of the year, because they've been conditioned to do so all their lives.
Also, always focus on the positives and benefits, even when people push back against you implementing changes to improve your dojo. So, you need to explain to your students and clients that you're switching to a more efficient way of teaching class, one that will allow you to spend more time with each student.
Then, make sure every student has the curriculum OUTLINE for their level. You shouldn't give them the detailed curriculum, because that will be overwhelming to them.
But, a one-sheet with all the techniques for that level will help them understand what they're learning. Or, you can just give them a one-sheet with only the techniques they are learning for their next grading.
"What If Someone Starts Training In The Middle of a Cycle?"
This is a common question, one I get all the time. The short answer is, it doesn't matter. Here's why...
At the beginner level, a new white belt is only learning the most basic techniques. The best you can expect someone to do at the very beginning of their training is to learn a few simple techniques during their first few months. And in most cases, if you set your curriculum up properly, they can pick up those techniques in as little as four weeks.
Granted, they're not going to perform them at the level of someone who has been doing them for three months. But again, it doesn't matter. For one, nothing says you have to give them a belt right away. And second, for kids (or adults) you can just give them a stripe on their belt, and let them test for their first belt in the next testing cycle.
"I Don't Understand... If Students Are Starting Throughout The Year, How Do They Learn Everything They Need To Know To Test?"
People get hung up on sequence a lot in the martial arts. Because we are traditionally taught things sequentially, they think they'll trigger the apocalypse if they teach someone the second or third kata in their system before they learn the first.
What you have to understand is that, for the most part, the sequence that you were taught techniques in was arbitrary at best. I learned this from one of the taekwondo and hapkido master instructors I trained with. He was the first person I ever saw teach an entire class the same material at once.
If you were a white belt in his class, you learned everything the black belts did. If they were learning a black belt form, you learned it, too. You might not have understood it, and you might have been lost some of the time, but you learned it right beside them.
I don't think this was the most efficient way to teach, and I think breaking classes down by experience level and using a rotating curriculum is the more efficient method. But, it didn't seem to hurt his students any--he turned out some of the best black belts I've ever seen.
"So Let Me Get This Straight... Everyone Learns The Same Things At Once?"
Yes, everyone at the SAME LEVEL learns the same thing at once, but in sequence... a sequence that repeats itself after a certain period of time.
So, whether a student starts in the beginning, middle, or end of that sequence, they'll eventually cover all the material at that level, because the sequence repeats.
As long as they don't miss a ton of classes and they stay at that level and in the appropriate class for a specified period of time, they'll cover the material at that level in full.
"How Do I Set It Up?"
There's not enough space to explain it in an email, but you're welcome to
read the book (it's just $4 bucks, about the cost of a trip to Starbucks). It's a fairly short read, and I provide an example of my beginner's curriculum outline in the manual (the same one I provide to students).
Coming Up Next...
I'll be back next week to wrap up this series by explaining different ways you can schedule your classes, including methods I've seen over the years that follow different approaches and business models, and what has worked best for me.
Stay tuned!
